Rachel Matthews
Biography Early Years Lady Rachel Matthews is an 11th generation Countess. The Matthews family was granted the title and rights to Abbingdon, Surrey by King Edward VI in 1547. The Matthews Estates is comprised of three separate manor houses, two of which are maintained by the National Trust, and the third is home to Lady Matthews. Rachel Matthews was born in Surrey's Parkside hospital to Lady Abigail Matthews and the world famous archaeologist Lord Richard Matthews, the Earl of Abbingdon. During her youth, she proved to be quite the adventurous little girl, always attempting to follow her father on his exhibitions to far off countries but never being quite able to sneak away in his belongings without getting caught. Rachel attended the Abbingdon School for Girls from the age of five until she was thirteen years old. During her tenure at the school, her teachers marveled at her amazing intellect, problem solving skills and consistently finding ways to make trouble. They explained to her parents that due to her passion for adventure that she might have a future career as a treasure hunter, but it was more than just treasure she was interested in. She expressed a great deal of interest in ancient history, archeology studies and various mythological legends. During one of her many exploits when she was younger, she discovered a secret office in her family estate, one which would expose many secrets that her father had been hiding from her. Inside the depths of the office, it was there she learned first hand of the Hellfire Club, a secret society that was exclusive to only the wealthy and influential. She also learned of her fathers links to S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Stark Family. It wasn't long before she was discovered by Kurt Bradbury her guardian and friend of her father. Kurt explained to Rachel how devistating the effects would be if she let anyone know of the knowledge she had gained and in turn swore himself to silence in regards to Rachel discovering the information inside the office. Some say, what happened next was because of her father's inability to secure certain items within his secret office while others speculate it was merely a tragic accident. No one would ever discover the truth. Death of a Legacy Both of Rachel's parents were off enjoying a long overdue vacation together and coniencdently without Rachel. They informed her that they would return within two weeks time, unfortunately that wasn't the case. Both of her parents were off in Indonesia, when the accident occured. It was said that both Richard and Abigail had died instantly when their vehicle careened off the road and off a small cliff into the jungle. Local authorities had determined it was Richard's fault and even speculated that intoxication had a hand in their death. In reality, that was far from the truth. At the request of the Black King out of the New York branch of the Hellfire Club, Rachel's parents were to be killed due to Richard's growing connections of influential individuals outside the Club and his inability to keep documentation of the existence of the Club a secret. Although they never targeted Rachel herself, she was put under continious observation, until she reached the age of sixteen, at that point the Club had determined that she was so caught up with grief of her parents death, she had forgotten the things in which she had discovered and it was at that time, they made their move to secure her loyalty and membership. Inheritance When she was sixteen, she was transfered to Westminister School which was also known as The Royal College of St. Peter in Westminster. It was there she was approached by a highly influential member of the Hellfire Club.(Editing name of individual GhostITSX 00:43, July 31, 2011 (UTC)) She learned that not only was her father and mother members of the Club, but since their death she had inadvertantly inheirted their membership. Too young and naive to understand what she was getting herself into, Rachel accepted the membership and was thrust into the spotlight as one of the most admired individuals within her school, some speculate it was because of her intelligence, while others said there must have been outside influences. When Rachel finally hit eighteen, she applied to several prestigious colleges around the United Kingdom, and one such college which she had dreamed of going to answered her application, thanks in part to her influential family ties and her new friends within the Hellfire Club. She had discovered a few weeks prior to graduation that she was accepted at the University of Oxford at Pembroke and her entire tution and fees had been pre-paid for. Years at Pembroke Being wealthy and influential had it's perks at times. There would be times where she would miss school in order to take a lavish vacation on one of her many boats, while still being able to maintain grades to stay in school. It wasn't until her Sophmore year she truly dedicated herself to her studies in Ancient and Modern History as well as her love and desire to be an archealogist like her father. Though the years at Pembroke proved to be difficult for her socially, Rachel had made many new friends, one such friend was Katherine Ansley. Their friendship had blossomed right from the start at her freshmen introduction to the school and over the years they developed a love for one and another that no one would be able to compare to. They had their moments of fun and experimentation with each other but nothing solid ever came from it. hen she finally reached her senior year and was prepared to graduate, Rachel discovered that Katherine had secrets of her own and those secrets would end up causing their friendship to fall apart. Rachel ended up graduating with honors and was second in line for Head of Class, but fell short on her final exam. Rachel would move on and aquire her Masters Degree and decided her life needed more "spice" added to it. Seeking Adventure She had learned of the legendary fleet which was composed of over 4000 ships, also known as the Lost Fleet. This fleet was one of the great Khan's fleet which had set out to destroy Japan but never made it. The rumors which surrounded the mysterious dissapearance of the fleet caused Rachel to become facinated with the speculation of discovering the fleet and why it had truly vanished. It wasn't until a fateful night in Japan when she was approached by Dylan Graham a treasure hunter and thrill seeker himself who had been attempting to locate the fleet for many years and during a game of poker, tossed in the coordinates to the island in which many believe the fleet had crashed off of the coast. Due to her charm and ability to cheat, Rachel managed to win the coordinates and subsequently push Dylan off the hunt, or so she thought. It wasn't long after the game that she discovered Dylan speaking to one of his associates about the island and how he managed to memorize the coordinates. Rachel quickly approached him and gave him a challenge, if he could beat her to the island, then he would be free to take whatever spoils he found without any recourse. Of course, being the man he was, Dylan accepted the challenge and thus began a life-long competition between the two, one that would lead into an unknown direction as life progressed. After a brief discussion with her crew, it was decided they would search for this fleet, not just for treasure but for historical artifacts which might prove useful to society. With funding easily availble, they set out to search for the missing fleet, and soon Rachel would find out that she had bitten off more than she could chew. A Survivor is Born During her travel towards the coordinates in which she had basically stole from Dylan, her ship the "Perseverance" ran into a bit of a storm which was actually generated by a myserious weapon located on the "Lost Island". More to Come GhostITSX 00:43, July 31, 2011 (UTC) Personality Rachel is consistently depicted as a highly confident, independent, and headstrong person. She is also very brave, rarely showing any sign of fear in very dangerous or lethal situations(Later on in life). Although it is said she can have quite the personality conflicts depending on the circumstances. At some points she has been portrayed as a dark, enigmatic, sardonic and even cold-blooded. There have been other times where she has been put off as more openly emotional, light-hearted and feminine. Most contribute this to her higher interaction with people while her other personality traits seem to stem from her boat accident earlier in her career. It is no hidden secret that Rachel is a thrill seeker, loving ancient booby traps and dizzying heights despite her past experiences. Training (Filler)(Filler)(Filler)(Filler)(Filler)(Filler)(Filler)(Filler)(Filler)(Filler)(Filler) Abilities Currently Editing GhostITSX 20:59, July 22, 2011 (UTC) Limitations (Filler)(Filler)(Filler)(Filler)(Filler)(Filler)(Filler)(Filler)(Filler)(Filler)(Filler) Equipment (Filler)(Filler)(Filler)(Filler)(Filler)(Filler)(Filler)(Filler)(Filler)(Filler)(Filler)